Comedy fans will remember that Lavell Crawford was the runner-up on season 5 of “Last Comic Standing.” Even though he didn’t win, the comedian has gone on to an impressive career.

In addition to selling out comedy venues around the country, Crawford has spent the past dozen years leaving his mark on TV and film, most notably for playing Huell Babineaux in “Breaking Bad” and its spin-off “Better Call Saul” and starring as Gus Patch in the Netflix original movie “The Ridiculous 6.”

From Jan. 28 to 30, Crawford will perform at the Stress Factory in Bridgeport, with social distancing measures in place.

Keith Loria: A lot of people haven’t seen live comedy in a while. What can those coming out to the Stress Factory expect?

Lavell Crawford: With the energy across the country right now, I’m just going to bring flat-foot funny. People want to laugh and I’m coming in to get them to laugh.

KL: How have you spent the pandemic?

LC: I’ve been working since Memorial Day, hitting it every day at the clubs that have been open. I live under the beat of my own drum, and people want to come out and laugh, and we need to keep some sort of normalcy or people are going to lose their minds. The stage is my therapy, so I am thankful there were some opportunities to keep going and bring people that laughter.

KL: You made your television debut performing on “Def Jam Comedy” back in the early ’90s, but before that, you were performing in Illinois’ rising comedy scene. What made you want to start performing?

LC: I went to college and that didn’t pan out, and I was working temporary jobs here and there. I had a friend who I used to make laugh all the time. When I was in college, I got to see Sinbad perform at my school, and I was just enamored at how he controlled the audience and had everyone laughing. Prior to seeing Sinbad, Richard Pryor was the only comedian I really knew. But after seeing Sinbad, another young guy, I decided I wanted to try it. It took about five months, but I went on stage and got instant gratitude because I was telling a story and people were loving it.

KL: What is it about being a comedian that you love?

LC: I started about 37 years ago, and I just love making people laugh and I was fortunate to make it a career. I love the audience. You never know who will be in the crowd — people who may need that laugh, or you may be inspiring other people to do it. No matter how long you’ve been in this game, it always teaches you something.

KL: How did “Last Comic Standing” help your career?

LC: I think everything helps. It gave me another audience and another group of people that never heard of me. Every door opens up new opportunities. Anytime you can be on TV, it’s a great opportunity.

KL: You’ve done a great deal of acting as well. Was it always your plan to use your comedy career to make it to the mediums of TV and film?

LC: I’m thankful for whatever I can get out of the situation. It was never a “plan plan,” but when things happened I just went for it. A comedian is always acting. He’s putting more emphasis on something or making a hyperbole of a story. So, who is a better actor than a comedian? You have to believe what they are saying. Most comedians are putting on a face. Most of them are not the same person they are on stage, so acting comes natural to a lot of us.

KL: How much time did you devote to this part of your career?

LC: I took some acting lessons and did some plays, and went through the rhythm of making it happen. You have to take it seriously, especially if they are going to pay you to do something.

KL: What’s the most challenging part of acting for you?

LC: As a comedian, it’s hard for me to stick to the words on the script, because I always think of something that’s funny and it doesn’t always make sense to me. But I would never disrespect anyone, because they’re the ones who write the script and they know what they’re doing.

KL: Any goals for 2021? What do you see in the year ahead?

LC: I don’t make any resolutions, but I do have a vision board where I put things on that I want to obtain. On my chalkboard, I write what I will do every day. I think daily resolutions is always better than a yearly one, because you don’t know if you’ll ever get those done. I just did a book and I’ll be doing seminars across the country, talking about how to be a stand-up comedian. I also wrote a children’s book that will be self-published in February. I’m also doing a comedy special called the “Public Vaccine.” Hopefully, we’ll all find a way to get past this and live for the day.

Lavell Crawford will perform at the Stress Factory at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 28, and at 7 and 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 29, and Saturday, Jan. 30. Tickets are $30. For more information, visit stressfactory.com .